The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Mutha Gopalakrishna to contest as independent

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 24, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Mutha Gopalakrishna to contest as independent

Staff Reporter

Yet to think of joining any other party

His candidature for Kakinada rejected by Congress
He suspects the role of rice millers’ lobby in the issue

Kakinada: Kakinada MLA Mutha Gopalakrishna has resigned to Congress party and decided to file nomination as an independent for Kakinada City Assembly constituency following the rejection of his candidature for that seat.

He announced that his links with the ruling party are snapped as his hopes of serving the people were dashed by those at the helm of affairs.

Mr. Gopalakrishna said he sent a message about his resignation to the Chief Minister after the latter, during a telephonic conversation this evening, expressed helplessness on the ground that the incumbent MLA was ruled out of the race by party high command due to his poor chances of victory.

Mr. Gopalakrishna earlier told mediapersons that he did not think of joining any other party in the absence of any formal invitation to him and that he was prepared to bury the hatchet if the Congress party approached him with a solution to the impasse. The MLAdropped enough hints that the Congress party’s Kakinada City nominee D Chandrasekhara Reddy spoiled his chances of renomination by getting his image tarnished in the eyes of the high command. Mr. Reddy has also apparently resorted to horse-trading while promising his support for the sitting MLA’s candidature.

Mr. Reddy, who is a Pradesh Congress Committee member and a close friend of Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, had acknowledged that Gopalakrishna has enough support in Kakinada City constituency and he would be content with Kakinada Rural seat if the party instructed them so.

But, Gopalakrishna ended up in the list of eliminated candidates because his detractors gave a wrong picture to the Chief Minister allegedly at the behest of Chandrasekhara Reddy camp.

Mr. Gopalakrishna has also suspected that the rice millers lobby in East Godavari district was at work in the higher echelons of power, particularly after Y.S Jagan visited Kakinada a few months ago.

The big shots in State Rice Millers’ Association which is headed by Chandrasekhara Reddy’s father Bhaskar Reddy, were learnt to have offered to ensure the victory of candidates chosen by Congress party on some preconditions, thus secured ticket for the present official nominee.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh